...the more they stay the same.
On November 10, 2016, I published these words on the Mesquite Hugger blog:
Hugging Mesquite in the shadow of a New President
Honestly, I am stunned.
Donald Trump has been a cartoon character in my peripheral vision for most of my life. I've known that he was an obnoxious and very shady businessman, but I've paid little attention to him.
And now, at a pivotal time in world and environmental history, he is my president.
Throughout the [2016] campaign he has spouted outrageous and hateful things about so many things that are core to my beliefs and about people I love dearly.
Yes, I am an environmentalist, but I am not that because of a desire to save whales and birds and fresh air. I am that because I believe in and want to make things better for people - all people.
Both as a man and a Christian, I struggle to imagine living any other way. So having a president who wants to deport, exclude, subjugate, and isolate others is beyond disturbing. And having a president who wants to extract every last resource from our planet and leave it a smoking husk is just as disturbing.
So, I am looking at a man who has vowed to dissolve the EPA and has mocked those who are working to save a planet that has been battered and damaged by humanity blindly plowing forward with no regard to the consequences.
And I am living in a country where roughly half of the people embrace and regard this man as a hero.
So, what's a Mesquite Hugger to do? Embrace the hatred? Seek common ground?
I started this blog to offer others encouragement, optimism, and the tools to make positive changes.
So, now I am looking for encouragement, optimism, and a few tools to make a positive change.
May we find some common ground and some hope. Failing that, may we find the strength and wisdom to pursue the best path for all.
Honestly, it's now 2025, and I'm still stunned.
But that's not a terrible thing. I've needed a good slap.
Over the last 8 years or so I've fallen into a very dull despair.
Mesquite Hugger was a place of hope and encouragement for doing better, living better, and inviting others to do the same. It was a place to encourage people to love, respect, and serve each other for the common good.
These days, Mesquite Hugger is a ho-hum place to share photos of birds, bikes, and prairie dogs.
The reason for that is simple. I gave up.
I traded the dream of inspiring and encouraging others for the resignation of just getting by and staying afloat I settled in for a gray monotony.
But I'm not ready to live under a Trumpian authoritarian regime and I'm not ready to see the country I grew up loving turn into a hate-filled playground for the uber wealthy.
I started this blog to offer others encouragement, optimism, and the tools to make positive changes.
So, please keep an eye on this space to find encouragement, optimism, and the tools to make positive changes.
As always, thanks for reading this! I pray you are well and that you have hope despite the times!
